LDP Leadership Talks, Missing a Most Important Issue: Return of Abductees from North Korea

このページを日本語で読む

Debate has commenced among the five candidates vying to become the next president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). However, to date, there has been a notable lack of concern and outrage expressed regarding the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea.

The same was true in the 2024 Lower House election and 2025 summer election for the Upper House.

Elections provide politicians an excellent opportunity to display their character and competence. Therefore, the five candidates' failure to take a stand could give North Korea the wrong impression that Japan is no longer interested in the abductions issue. We urge them to engage in more vigorous debate on securing the return of Pyongyang's abduction victims.

*Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a national rally calling for the rescue of abduction victims in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo (©Sankei by Hideyuki Matsui)*

Ishiba's Folly

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has proposed establishing diplomatic liaison offices in Tokyo and Pyongyang. He says this is to facilitate discussion on the abduction issue. However, Ishiba's proposal drew criticism from the families of the abduction victims. They claim, based on North Korea's past responses, that the move would simply further stall resolution of the issue.

If the government, the ruling party, and the victims' families lack unity, their anger and the general public's cannot be successfully directed toward North Korea, where it rightfully belongs.

Former Abductee Hasuike Speaks Out

Kaoru Hasuike, an abduction victim who returned to Japan in 2002, gave a speech in Saitama Prefecture on September 20. In it, he made the following appeal: "Public opinion is the driving force for moving the issue forward. I want the Japanese people to show determination to never forgive North Korea."

Politicians should take the lead in that respect. In an interview he gave to The Sankei Shimbun following his speech, Hasuike said that he cannot detect any genuine commitment on the part of the Japanese government regarding the issue.

Akihiro Arimoto, the father of abduction victim Keiko Arimoto, passed away in February at the age of 96. Megumi Yokota's mother, Sakie, is now the only surviving member of the parent generation among the abductees' families. Moreover, Sakie is already 89 years old. There is little time left for this final surviving parent to be reunited with her child.

In his speech, Hasuike said, "Only if Sakie can embrace Megumi while she is still alive should Japan respond to North Korea's request for economic assistance or other overtures."

*Sakie Yokota during an interview with The Sankei Shimbun in Kawasaki City earlier in 2025. (©Shunsuke Sakamaki)*

He also stated emphatically, "To say that time is running out also goes for North Korea."

Families' Exasperation with the Government

Sakie Yokota exclaimed her exasperation when Prime Minister Ishiba announced his resignation. "They just keep replacing people without doing anything truly constructive," she said.

Megumi's younger brother, Takuya, who now serves as representative for the abductees' family association, echoes this. He has called for the structure for managing the issue to be revamped as soon as possible. The five candidates in the LDP leadership race have a responsibility to respond to their wishes.

On September 21, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a comment that illustrated his strategy. He said that "there is no reason why we cannot meet with the United States" if Washington abandons its demand that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.

Kim's attention seems to have turned solely to the US. The five candidates should earnestly discuss ways to bring it back to Japan and the abduction issue.

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun

このページを日本語で読む